Lost In Music.

It's a bit of a funny one but Larry and I have known each other for nearly ten years and have been DJing together for four of them yet I don't think I've ever been record shopping with him. This might not seem that strange as I realise that record shopping has changed quite a bit over the last few years and that it's much more common for people to search for music via the internet before buying or just to go and download it but I'm a romantic old soul who still loves the ritual of record shopping and I'm fairly certain Larry does too as he still buys records. Yet we've never been to a shop together.

Perhaps one reason for this is that Larry, as I have mentioned in previous posts, plays a lot more modern music than I do so he'd be much more likely to be found in the frankly excellent Rubadub or Monorail than the dusty shit-tips I frequent which don't even have new-fangled things like websites. (I should also point out my slight guilt in not buying many new records as I realise that we in Glasgow should be very grateful indeed to still have not one but TWO records shops with nice staff who really know what they are talking about.)

There's something about second-hand record shopping that really appeals to me: the uncertainty of there being anything worth looking for; the real knowledge that you need to get the really good thing; the chance, no matter how slim, that there might be a REAL bargain in the somewhere, getting to know the staff so they point you in the direction of the new arrival or even sometimes put stuff aside for you. Even the dust that invariably gets on your hands (it's really not for molysmophobics) and the sore back and pins and neddles in your feet you sometimes get bending over the pound bins. These things all add up to create a perfect little ritual.

Recently, I've been having some really good luck digging in the crates in Glasgow and found a few oddities, some old classics and on two occasions that holiest of grails: a record in the pound bin worth substantially more than a mere quid.

As well as being a romantic old soul, I'm also generous so here's some links to a few of the cheaper tracks I picked up today. You should be able to find these online for a few quid, so if you like them, please go buy the record. They can be such things of beauty and as Keats said

"A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its lovliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing."

Now I don't think you could say that about an MP3, could you?


Sister Sledge - Lost In Music (Special 1984 Nile Rodgers Mix)

Featuring Simon Le Bon and Andy Taylor from Duran Duran on 'background vocals' as they were in the studio next door to Nile, recording 'Wild Boys'.
Quite why 'Lost In Music' needed another mix or quite what the Wild Boys contributed is another matter.

Carrie McDowell - Uh Uh No No (Sunrise Mix)

Carrie McDowell - Uh Uh No No (Club Dub)

Carrie McDowell was signed to Motown in the mid to late 80s and this was the only single to make any impact on the charts. Whilst some of the lyrics in the chorus are a bit clanky in my opinion, the music is good enough to give it charm. Also her voice is fantastic. I never would have guessed she was white either. There's a dub if you don't agree (or do agree about the lyrics.)
Carrie now lives in Tennesee and does Christian albums with her husband, so I guess a song espousing sexual abstinence is a fitting legacy to be carrying.